Crossing the Darién Gap

This post is going to be quite boring, it’s really only meant for people looking to cross from Panamá to Colombia (or I suppose vice-versa) by boat; we found a lack of up to date information online and would have appreciated a little help! The following was true for the end of December 2015.

What we did:

1. Rode to Colón, Panamá. Don’t do this, unless you want to go to Colón. (It seems like quite an interesting city, although we high-tailed out of there pretty fast when we realised that you can’t easily get a boat from Colón itself). The ferry from Colón to Cartagena is NOT running this season.
2. Rode back up the road, and then up the coast to Portobelo. From Portobelo it’s possible to find yachts sailing to Colombia, but be prepared to pay through the nose ($300 is cheap), it sounds like you get a lovely tour out of it (probably more like $500 for a lovely tour), maybe some snorkelling, you know. We were approached by a guy looking for a worker (you get paid food), so it is possible, but he didn’t have room for our bikes, and could only take one of us. If you want to take this option, either go to Captian Jack’s (but probably don’t stay there, $13/night for a bed, shower, toilet, and nothing else, there’s a cheaper hostel above the pharmacy), or talk to Francesco (I think), his house is above the town square, if you walk away from the sea, there’s a little band stand thing on the other side of the road, he lives to the left of it. Marco at Captain Jack’s and Francesco can both sort you out with boats, although it can take time, and as I said, costs a lot.
3. Rode further up the coast to Miramar. Please don’t do this. We were told you could get a lancha (motorboat) from Miramar to Cartí, in the San Blas Islands, and it’s true, you can, but unless there happens to be others going to Cartí, which it seems is rarely the case, you’d have to pay $300 and upwards to get anyone to take you to San Blas, which is only the beginning of the journey anyway. Don’t go to Miramar. You might also hear that you can get a fishing or cargo boat to take you from Miramar. You can’t. They aren’t allowed to carry passengers, and the police are stationed to the East of Miramar, so they aren’t willing to take any risks. Don’t go there.
4. Retraced our steps, re-crossing the country back to the inter americana at Panamá City, East another 70km or something to El Llano, where there is another road to the Caribbean Coast. This road is not for the faint-hearted. Only 4x4s allowed, steepest gradients I’ve ever seen and going on and on for 40km (took us 4 and a half hours). It reaches the coast at Cartí , from where it’s possible to get a boat for $5 to Cartí (everything around there is called Cartí, all the islands, the port on the mainland, it’s confusing). If you don’t fancy the ordeal of this crazy road (or aren’t travelling by bike), you can get a 4×4 from Panama City for $30pp, maybe more to bring bikes
5. Took a lancha to Gardi Sugdub (I think, we just asked for Cartí, and told them we wanted to go to Colombia). This cost $5, the bikes were free. This island is really interesting, you can read more about it in the main blog post.
6. Waited on the dock for an afternoon, talking to anyone who would talk to us, asking about how to get to Colombia. We fairly quickly found a guy who was going to Puerto Obaldia (the last town in Panamá, where you need to go) the next day. He wanted $100pp plus $25 for each bike. You can stay on the island for $5 in a little hostel.
7. Endured the lancha crossing from Cartí to Puerto Obaldia. Our pilot actually returned to the mainland to pick up more passengers, so you could skip Gardi Sugdub if you wanted. This journey was possibly the most uncomfortable of my entire life, lanchas are small, and ours was full of cargo so very low in the water, so inevitably the sea washed over the side of the boat with regular frequency. We were provided with plastic sheets to try and shield ourselves, but it was super wet. Put everything in a dry bag, wear your swimming stuff and no shoes. You can also get cargo boats from Cartí (best from an island I think), they are super cheap ($30ish) but take forever (5-9 days) to get to Puerto Obaldia.
8. Passed through immigration in Puerto Obaldia. Go to the army first, they get shirty if you don’t, despite there being no signs.
9. Found a lancha going to Capurganá, Colombia. This is where immigration is the other side of the border. We paid $30pp, although it’s possible to cross for $15, we were just a little unlucky and the sea was very rough. We just kind of hung around immigration and someone found us and offered us a boat, just tell anyone who will listen that you want to go to Colombia.
10. Passed immigration in Capurganá, a lovely little touristy port with no road.
11. Took the passenger boat to Necoclí, this cost $22pp plus $15 for each bike. There are also boats to Turbo, a little further South. Necoclí has nicer beaches, Turbo has a big party scene, we just took the first boat we found (if you’re heading south, you’ll have to go through Turbo anyway). This journey was much more comfortable than the others, as it’s a bigger boat.
12. Got back on our bikes. There’s a road from Turbo.

So. If you want to do the same as us, head straight for Cartí. We spent $197 on boats, but we did have a bit of a horrible time. It might be nicer if the sea is calmer, but there’s very little knowing that in advance. Also, try to protect your bikes, especially on the lanchas, ours got bumped about a lot, resulting in a bent fork…

¡Suerte!